A Note on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Outsider Assistance Programs in Rural versus Non-Rural States

Abstract

Although numerous countries have developed policies and programs to encourage entrepreneurial behavior in rural areas, there have been few attempts to compare the performance of entrepreneurial development programs in rural versus non rural settings. The existing literature led us to expect that such programs will be more efficient and effective in urban areas. However, in this study, virtually no significant relationships were found between urban and rural states—defined by the proportion of the population living in non-metropolitan counties—on the variables used to measure the performance of an entrepreneurship development program. This suggests that the need for special programs tailored to rural entrepreneurs deserves further, more critical, evaluation.